Gaza: Lesson of Vietnam War lost upon Biden/Harris
'Hamas is hopeful Israel's allies ... will be the first to shed their resolve'
Interestingly, a U.S. administration, led by a president supposedly having extensive foreign policy experience and a vice president with virtually none, chose to ignore a critical lesson of U.S. history applicable to the war being fought in Gaza by Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to the United States to speak before Congress. But, in doing so, our leadership neglected to issue a statement indicating its full support for our ally, failing to understand why, nearly half a century earlier, we lost the war in Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a conflict in which we unwittingly helped our enemy snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was a mistake President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris repeated during Netanyahu’s visit, helping to undermine an Israeli victory in Gaza.
Years after the Vietnam War, I interviewed Gen. Tran Van Tra who had commanded the Viet Cong forces during that conflict. He shared how in January of 1968, North Vietnam masterminded the Tet offensive, which involved a coordinated attack on numerous targets throughout South Vietnam, hoping to achieve a decisive victory to end what was an ongoing slug-fest.
The offensive lasted nine months, resulting in heavy losses for U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. What we failed to appreciate, however, was that the offensive was a major disaster for the North; so much so, that its leaders began questioning their ability to keep on fighting.
But Hanoi and Tra received a reprieve. They were astonished to hear news reports claiming the Tet offensive had been a disaster for the U.S. As such reports gave strength to the anti-war movement in America, it also strengthened the resolve among the North Vietnamese leadership to continue fighting. They believed they could gradually destroy America’s resolve. They were absolutely correct in their analysis.
Netanyahu has repeatedly made clear his own resolve to continue the war in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed. Ten months into that fight, Israel is close to achieving its goal. However, both Biden and Harris have made statements and taken actions outrageously undermining Israel’s ability to pursue that end by suggesting a lack of U.S. commitment to our ally.
By its words and actions, the Biden administration has been feeding the will of Hamas – which remains undeterred by the high Palestinian civilian casualty toll it has caused by engaging in tactics whereby it hides among the population.
At a time the West should be doing all it can to assist Israel, Biden is withholding 11 war-fighting systems. These include 120-millimeter tank and mortar ammunition, medium tactical vehicles, medium air-to-air missiles, F-15 fighter jets and other badly needed war materials – this at a time Netanyahu pleads for Congress to “dramatically expedite” such supplies. Biden foolishly ignores the fact that this only encourages Israel’s enemies to collectively engage our ally. Quoting England’s World War II Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s similar appeal to America for weapons more than eight decades ago, Netanyahu told Congress, “Give us the tools, and we’ll finish the job.”
Meanwhile, Harris announced she would not remain “silent” concerning Palestinian suffering while failing to recognize Israeli Defense Forces for their noteworthy efforts to minimize civilian casualties. This is despite the fact we now know several such Palestinian “civilians” accompanied the Hamas terrorists into Israel to participate in its killing spree, bringing back kidnapped Israelis to hold as prisoners in their residences. This is unsurprising as many Palestinians support Hamas in its efforts to eradicate Israel as they oppose a two-state solution. Later, Harris publicly declared she is open to an arms embargo against Israel.
The Biden/Harris team’s position has been criticized as “an unconscionable betrayal of our close ally,” embracing “disastrous policies (that) endanger Israel – which is why Israel should do whatever is necessary militarily to protect Israelis even if the Biden-Harris administration shamefully refuses to provide support.”
Ironically, while Hamas may be operating under the belief it can impose enough casualties upon Israel to break its resolve, a recent Israeli study dispels this myth. It notes that the Israeli public has come to accept the fact that the Middle East threats confronting their country have caused the people to adopt a resilience and willingness to endure the losses necessary to preserve their national security. If anything, the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas raid has only reinforced this willingness, making it unlikely Israel will cave first. Thus, Hamas is hopeful Israel’s allies providing support and supplies will be the first to shed their resolve.
Gaza is a war of wills – that of Hamas to destroy Israel and that of Israel to destroy Hamas before it can do so. A lack of will, as evidenced by the U.S. in the Vietnam War, which helped to bring us our ultimate defeat, does nothing to help the latter and everything to help the former.
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